Who He Was
by Amberstar of Thunderclan
Summary: Smaug hates dwarves and humans with a passion, as all hobbit fans know. However, what if gold was not the only thing that drove him to attacking Erebor? Why did he attack Dale, even though he could have claimed the mountain without destroying the town? What if the cause, the reason, the inspiration for taking Erebor...was revenge? T for blood.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so Jayfeattheris Awesome has gone to the store. This is my perfect chance to re-post a fic without her knowing it. Well, she'll probably find out almost immediately, but who cares.**

Smaug flew over the valley, the wind under his wings. To his right, his mother flew, her dark green scales shining in the sun. To his left was his older brother, Clicks, who had green scales as well, only they were a slightly lighter shade. Smaug was the only one that had inherited the red-golden brown scales of their father.

He had two other siblings, back at the nest. His sister, Jade, who had born in the same hatching as him. And the newest member of the family, Frilla, who was only a year old. Under any other circumstances, Jade would be out hunting with them. But there had been a thunderstorm last night, and Frilla was still frightened. So, Jade had volunteered to watch their sister while they hunted.

Today, they were going to be hunting in a very dangerous area; the human farm. It was dangerous because they had hunted there many times a since Smaug and Jade had been hatched, and because of their frequent raids, their parents had been met with black arrows during the winter of Frilla's hatching. The dwarvish windlance bows had been installed after their last visit, and their father had been killed after taking an arrow for Clicks, who had joined them to help carry the prey back to the nest.

Clicks had been the only one to make it to hatching because while he was still in his egg, a rival male had challenged their father. Their father had won, so, under the cover of darkness, the rival dragon had snuck into the nest and had almost smashed all of the eggs before their father had woken up and killed him. Only Clicks' egg had survived, and he had been named because from the day of the attack, he had been constantly clicking on the shell of his egg, all the way up until the day he hatched.

Frilla had been the only survivor of her hatching because, after the death of their father, the humans had thought that without a guardian, that they would be able to smash all of the remaining eggs and prevent the dragon population from returning. Except, they hadn't been counting on Jade, as she tended to hunt out of sight of the village. She had fallen asleep that night with one eye half open, and had woken from a light slumber to find the humans jabbing their spears into the eggs and killing her un-hatched siblings. As one could expect, Jade's rage was unrelenting, and she had hunted the surviving humans for three whole days before finding and killing them in a cave near the river. Frilla and one other egg had survived, but the other dragonet had tried to fly too early, and had fallen to his death.

She and Smaug had been the only two to have hatched in a clutch of four eggs. A volcano had erupted that year, and the fumes and ash that had been shot into the air had made the egg shells soft, killing the babies inside. Jade was smaller than him now, but she would eventually be large enough to snap his neck with one bit. Female dragons were larger than males because they had to protect their eggs, and in dragon flocks, females that were of age would sometimes fight each other over a male if they were challenged.

Either way, he was not too eager for the day when Jade would see him as a threat instead of a brother. The same went for Clicks and Frilla. Clicks. Most male dragons would have left to have a life of their own by Clicks' age. The only thing keeping him around was probably Frilla, who still had a long way to go until she could hunt on her own. Ever since the death of their father, Clicks had taken it upon himself to make sure that all of his siblings made it to adulthood; even if it meant sticking around Smaug, who would normally be seen as a rival male, even though he still had a few years until he was full grown.

But for now, Smaug was just glad that his brother was still here. He and Jade had always idolized Clicks and their father, and he was proud to have such a loyal dragon as his brother. Clicks' wing brushed his own, bringing him back to the present.

"Three west, five south, eight to the east, and two north. How many do you think we can handle?" Clicks told him. He was talking about the sheep in the field that they could now see in the distance.

" Three load, but five if we can manage. You take point, mum to the east, I'll take west." He answered, using the short speaking that Clicks had taught him. It was important for any dragon hunting party to be able to communicate a strategy quickly, for many dragons didn't often hunt alone in their first few years away from their parents.

"Good plan. You're getting better." Clicks praised," Alright, let's get in quick, and get out even quicker. We don't want any injuries. Smaug, draw fire; you're the fastest flyer. I'll drop load to mum, and blast a signal when we're through."

"Be careful." Smaug's mother told him, before veering off the east with Clicks.

 _All right. I've got to be careful now. Even if I don't get hit someplace vital, the blood'll still freak Frilla out._ Humans were excellent marksmen. It was impossible to not get hit by a black arrow, but as long as he flew with his wings tucked in a bit, it would be too hard for them to hit his heart. It would still hurt _really_ badly, because his wing membrane would be ripped through. But the hit would make the arrow too slow to damage his belly, so he would still be alive.

He dove down, swooping past one of the towers, hitting it with his wing. _Ow!_ It was _a lot_ more painful hitting the tower than he thought it would be. _I'm definitely not doing_ that _again!_ He soared upwards, and then back flipped and barrel rolled into another dive. He could see a dwarvish windlance, aimed at his belly.

It fired, and he barrel rolled to the side to avoid it. He felt the black arrow scrape his wing, and it felt as if a claw had just cut him to the bone. At the lowest part of his dive, he blasted fire on the tower the arrow had come from, and he saw a human jump from it to avoid the flames. _They're not too bright, are they? I would rather burn than break my ribs._

Unfortunately, he had been so distracted by the idiot human, that he had flown too low, and found himself crashing head-first into another windlance tower. He lost control of his balance, and instead of sliding on his belly, his hind legs flew up into the air, and he found himself lying on his back in the middle of a town, with the windlance tower collapsed on his neck.

He lay there a moment, trying to catch his breath, and found himself looking into bright eyes. Her eyes were wide, green, and terrified, and for a horrible moment, he thought he was seeing Frilla, until he noticed that it was not his little sister, but a human girl. She screamed, and he couldn't help but imagine that it sounded like the scream that Frilla had made during the thunder storm.

"Go. Run youngling. This is not the day for your life to end." He found himself telling her.

The child just looked at him, bewildered, until she seemed to snap out of her trance, and ran away. Now, he noticed how uncomfortable it was to lay on top of buildings. He looked up, and could see a windlance tower, with the black arrow aimed at his stomach. He struggled, thrashing his wings, twisting his hips, and scrabbling with his paws to get up. Her felt a new, fiery pain flash through his side. As he finally got to his feet, he looked at his side, to see the shaft of a black arrow poking through his wing membrane, with the head imbedded in his side. He hissed at the wound, and blasted fire at the tower before taking off, more pain searing through him as his wing membrane tore because of the wound.

He looked towards the field of sheep just in time to see Clicks drop two dead sheep on their mother's back. She was already carrying two in her claws, and one in her jaw. They had room for five more, if Clicks hunted more, and it looked as if he was going to.

Smaug went into another dive, aiming to destroy another tower. Except, he was so focused on that tower, he didn't notice the one to his left. It was too late, before pain flashed through his tail as the black arrow pierced the end of it. He roared with pain for the first time since he began his attack, as the arrow had pierced through either side of his tail tip. Worse, the new weight and completely non-aerodynamic shape of his tail tip began to unbalance him, and he had to flap unevenly and franticly in order to stay aloft.

His mother, not too far away and hearing his cry, burst into action, her maternal instincts kicking in. He watched as she rushed head-on towards the tower that had shot him. He watched, as she dropped the sheep that they had collected for their next meal. So he watched, as a black arrow pierced through her chest, and sent her plummeting towards the ground.

 **READ AND REVEIW! REVEIW SHALL BE REWARDED WITH COOKIES!**


	2. Death's First Strike

**Okay, we're back! Soon I shall write another chapter for this story. I will come back.**

 **Yes...someday...**

 **I will come back.**

"No!" Smaug roared, rushing towards his mother. _It has to be a trick! She's tricking them!_ His flight was still wobbly, due to the arrow in his tail.

He landed next to her sloppily, his wing claws smarting painfully on the ground. His mother was still, her facial features as relaxed and limp as her unmoving wings. The black shaft of the arrow stuck out from her chest, it's mignight metal slick with darker red, which pooled on the ground under her, turning her deep green scales scarlet.

"Wake up! Mother we have to fly! I'm fine, I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me, I'm fine, you don't have to worry, you didn't have to worry!" he wailed panicedly, shaking her with all his might."Please wake up! you have to wake up!"

Something whisled in his ear, and a sharp pain struck his neck, just behind his horns. He didn't care. _She has to wake up! She_ will _wake up!_ Any moment, those golden eyes would open, and they would fly away, away, away, back to their nest, where Frilla and Jade waited.

Another sharp pain in one of his wings, and then his side. He still didn't care. _Please wake up..._

"Smaug! Fly!" Clicks' voice roared in his ears. He was vaguely aware of his brother landing beside him.

"We can't just leave her here!" he snapped back, digging his claws into his mother's scales. He wasn't going to let go! Black arrows whistled past them, and there was a loud _thunck_ as one imbedded itself into Clicks' back scales.

Clicks ducked behind Smaug, and he briefly wondered what he was doing before a horrible pain lanced through his tail. He refused to cry out this time. And that was the moment he realized what had happened.

"Fly!" Clicks roared.

Smaug released his grip on his mother, and scrambled into the air, his wings tearing as windlance wounds worsened. His tail stung, his wounds ached, and sharp pains from still-imbedded arrows sung with each slight movement. He vaguely heard Clicks lift into flight behind him, and could barely hear his brother's powerful flaps as a voice rang through his head.

 _All my fault, all my fault, all my fault! I cried out...It's all my fault!_ Tears sprung in his eyes. There aren't many things that can make a dragon cry, much less a fire drake, as they are so dry, and so despise the water. But the bond between mother and dragonet is just so, and it is said a dragon can feel the death of it's parent even if it is on the other side of the world.

My mother is dead because of me.

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Jade watched the sunset come, it's light painting the sky blood red. Frilla was tucked close under her wing, and the tiny, blue-gray dragonets shifted peacefully in her sleep, nuzzling closer to Jade's hind leg. _So peaceful, lost from the troubles of reality within her dreams._

She desperately wished that _she_ was asleep. As the sun had risen to it's highest point in the sky, and unexpected wave of unbearable grief had crashed down on her, with no cause or explanation. She had had an increasing anxiety for her brothers and mother ever since, and had been sitting at the edge of their home ever since. Frilla, who had been napping all day(having lacked sleep the previous night, so deeply had her fear of the storm shaken her), had joined her at her perch and fallen asleep again some time ago.

Their home was in a cliffside, under a rocky overhang close to the top of the cliff face. Under it was a deep, wide cave like a dragon's maw, and the bottom half stuck out far like a wing to form a sort of rocky balcony, which was perfect for landing and taking off from. The overhang offered shelter during the rain, and there was a waterfall some ways away from the cave which fed into the river that wound through the pine forest below, which, on most day, was teeming with prey.

But not this morning. And so, her brothers and mother had set off for the human town, intending to bring back as many sheep as they could. With the cold season starting, their usual prey would start to migrate, and they would likely be forced to hunt at the town more often...which meant taking more risks. She shuddered just below the overhang, shifting her wings, as she recalled the death of her father, and the humans that had murdered her unborn siblings. Tiny lives, that hadn't even felt the sun on their faces before having their lives taken.

Suddenly, she noticed two shapes winging their way towards her. She narrowed her eyes against the light of the setting sun, letting out a guttural noise as her fire stirred within her. She felt Frilla stir as well, woken by the increasing heat.

"Jade," she asked sleepily, her wide, pink mouth opening in a yawn," What's happening?"

"Head back into the cave, Frilla. Mother, Clicks, and Smaug will be back very soon. I'll wake you for the meal." she told her sister gently, giving her a nudge towards the deeper part of the cave. The gray-blue dragonet stumbled slowly, sleepily, to the community nest in which they all slept.

Jade would curl her tail around Frilla, and Smaug would plop down beside her, her locking her right wing with his left, and him draping his neck of hers. Clicks would try to snuggle up underneath their joined wings, draping his own over their bodies( he was starting to get quite big, though, and had a little trouble squeezing in) and resting his head on their necks(Smaug often complained of their brother drooling on him in his sleep, and Jade was missing part of her ear due to one of Clicks' hunting dreams). Finally, mum would curl around them all, one, gigantic wing covering them, and the comforting rumble of fire in her belly lulling them to sleep.

Their father, when he was still alive, had curled up around them as well, from the opposite direction. If her wasn't tending to the eggs, that is. Jade thought briefly about the golden-red flecks on Frilla's wings and chest, and about the similar, though larger, marking on her own face, on her cheeks and at the far corner of each eye, the only evidence that Darv had been their father.

The shapes in the sky grew closer, and her heart pounded in her ears as she recognized them. It was Clicks and Smaug, her hatching-mate drooping in the air beside their older brother. He was bleeding from several wounds, black shafts sticking out of them. _Black arrows._

They landed heavily, Smaug awkwardly and limply. Clicks looked tired, and there was a weight to both their heads. Smaug crouched low to the ground, as if he was too exhausted to get up again. Jade rushed towards him heavily wounded sibling, pressing her body against his side and nuzzling him worriedly. He wouldn't, or couldn't, meet her gaze. There was a haunted look in his golden eyes, which stared blankly at the ground.

"What happened? Where's mother?" she demanded, lifting her head to look at Clicks.

"The town men counter attacked. They've installed more windlance bows since Da." he told her witheringly.

"You didn't answer my question!" she hissed, lashing her tail furiously." Where's Mum?"

Both brothers were silent. She knew it was stupid of her to ask. It had been obvious since the moment they landed, and she had known in her heart, since the sun's highest point, that it was true. She felt tears begin to hiss along her cheeks.

"She... she fell." Clicks seemed to choke on the words, turning away from her.

A wail sounded from inside the cave. Frilla had heard. Jade let out a low moan of grief, burying her face in Smaug's shoulder. _Valar, give me strength._ Dragons weren't particularly attentive to the whole "Valar" stuff, but in dark times, she needed a light to turn to.

"It's all my fault..." Smaug whispered, barley audible, speaking for the first time since landing.

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Smaug stood on top of the cliff, on the overhang just above their cave. Jade and Clicks were inside with Frilla. Tonight, they would be sitting vigil for their mother, heads lowered to the moon. Tomorrow... none of them knew what tomorrow would bring.

His wounds still hurt, and he had yet to remove the black arrows that stuck out from his scales. He didn't have the heart to remove the weapons he had been struck with during the battle his mother had died in. Would the wounds fade away, leaving no scars, as if the battle had never happened? The very thought of there being no marks to define this day felt oddly sacrilegious to him. How could he remember her, and this day, if there were no scars to remember her by?

Each wound throbbed with pain, and whenever he moved, even the slightest bit, he could feel blood, dried and fresh, flacking off his scales or oozing between them. He had tried to remember what mother did to help with arrow wounds, but he couldn't see or think beyond the haze of his own grief and guilt. _Mother!_

He let out a low keening sound, shutting his eyes tight and trying to remember her scent. _Like pine trees and oak trees at the same time._ he thought. A strong scent of stone and grass, mixed with river wind and fire, and sky, like a bare, mountain scrubland, always with a lingering scent of their father and themselves. The scent of comfort and sanity, of warmth and love, never to scented again. Because of him. He let out another moan, grief crackling in his throat like sparks of a fire.

All my fault, all my fault, I cried out, all my fault, I should have bared my pain with dignity, ALL MY FAULT!

A figure came up beside him. He could tell by the scent that it was Jade. _Go away,_ he whimpered-whispered in his mind, _please go away..._

They sat in silence for a long while. He felt like the silence might kill him, or the whispers of " _go away_ " might drive him to insanity.

"It is not your fault." Jade finally spoke, her voice quiet. Something slammed dully into him, a fresh wave of despair.

"Yes it is." He mumbled." I cried out. I should have kept my mouth shut. She came because she though I was hurt."

"You _are_ hurt Smaug, inside and out. The tail tip is the most vulnerable place on a dragon, and the most painful place to get hit. Any of us would have cried out." She told him softly.

"How do _you_ know! You weren't _there_!" he snapped, snarling." _You_ didn't have to watch her _die_ as she flew towards you! _You_ didn't have to watch a black arrow go through her heart!"

She looked at him softly, seemingly unscathed by his words. Her golden eyes, with flecks of silver in them, watched him with wisdom far beyond his sister's years.

"No, I didn't. You may have watched her fall, but you are not the cause of her death. It was not you who set loose the arrow that took her life, and it was not you who forged the bow it was set loose from. It was mum's idea to hunt at the town, and her greatest responsibility was always towards us." She rested her chin on his forehead." She loved you, and you were hurt because she decided to hunt there. She came because she cared, Smaug. Do not hate yourself for being loved."

Smaug looked into his sister's too-wise eyes, sorrow, guilt, and longing choking his every breath. Yet, somehow, the guilt felt lighter. And something new had entered him, somehow, and her reached in to explore it. But before he could decide what it was, he decided that whatever it was could wait until after he had grieved. _Properly_ , with the rest of his family.

A new thought struck him. Jade didn't seem to be mad at him, but what if Clicks and Frilla _were_? Did they blame him for mother's death? What if they _did_? What could he say, what _would_ he say, if they did? He lowered his head and turned back towards the moon. He couldn't go down there and face them, not knowing if they blamed him or not. How could he show his face, if they blamed him? It would be an insult to her memory, if he grieved with them while they blamed him.

Jade settled again beside him softly, and her felt a sharp pain as she snaked her head under his chest and pulled out one of the black arrows, this one in a particularly dangerous place over his heart. he hadn't even noticed it was _there_ , hurting all over and overcome with grief.

They sat there quietly, Jade pulling black arrows from his scale, giving each of the wounds a few gentle licks to clear away the dirt. The pain didn't stop, and when he looked at the spot, he noticed that one of the scales had come loose by the wound somehow, and now stuck out at an odd angle. He leaned down and pinched it between his teeth, giving it a sharp tug. If he pulled the loose scale out, a new one would grow in its place.

 _Ow!_ He hissed through his teeth, flinching his head away from the loos scale. The pain of removing a scale went deeper than he thought. _I'll do that tomorrow,_ he thought, _when I don't hurt as much._

He looked up at the moon, and sighed. _First Da, now Mum. Will there be no end to our grief?_

"We do not blame you, you know." Jade told him. He ducked his head to look at her, and flinched as she removed a black arrow from his underbelly.

" _You_ might not. But can you speak for Frilla and Clicks?" he asked.

"Frilla will not blame you. You are her brother, and we all know you're her favorite. Clicks will understand that Mum would have die to protect us all, and that her actions, which led to her death, were base off that ferocity." Jade comforted, rubbing her head against his briefly before pulling an arrow from behind one of his horns.

"Keep your neck still, and then I'll get the rest of your other side." she instructed. He tried not to wince as each arrow was pulled from it's wound, the pile or thin, black shapes on the edge of the cliff growing bigger as Jade spat them out. They stay there for a while, sister caring for brother, until the moon began to dip, and a pale indigo appeared on the horizon.

"We should get beck to the cave. Clicks will want to be leaving soon." his sister said, pulling away from his side. They had pressed against one another the rest of the night, grieving silently.

"Leaving? To where? What do you mean 'leaving'?" He asked, eyes wide and horns pricked up with alarm. They couldn't _leave_! _Mum raised us here!_

She shook her head sadly, eyes closed." I'll let Clicks explain. Come." she leapt off the cliff and glided down to the cave. Smaug cast the pile of bloodied, removed black arrows a final glance before taking off after her.

He landed on the outer ledge, his wounds screaming at him. He saw Clicks resting just below the overhang, Frilla pressed against him. His little sister charged away from Clicks as soon as Smaug landed, leaping up and latching to his chest in a desperate hug. Her little wing claws pricked his scale, but they were too small to do any damage.

"What's all this about leaving, Clicks?" He demanded, lashing his tail and choosing to ignore Frilla, however hard it was to ignore her.

"It's the same as it was with Da, Smaug. Now that mum's gone, they'll come to kill the rest of us." His green sibling rumbled, flicking his horns.

"Then we fight them off! They're just humans!" Smaug spat. Clicks may be content to leave, but _he_ wouldn't abandon the place of his hatching so easily.

"Those _humans_ just killed our _mother_ , after killing our _father_ , how many deaths will it take for you to realize that sometimes you have to admit defeat?" Clicks snapped back. Smaug felt Frilla get off his belly, and saw her scamper over to Jade, who was sitting on the sidelines. The strange twinge from earlier rang again.

"Oh, so what, we just _give up_?! Clicks, this is our _home_! We shouldn't and _can't_ be ousted that easily." He pressed, feeling fire rumble in his belly.

"You think I don't know that!" Clicks roars, arching his neck to full height, green eyes widening and lighting with fire. His chest crackled like a bed of embers." You think this is easy for me? I promised Da that I would protect you!"

"I don't need protecting!" Smaug spat. _Worry about helpless dragonets, not me!_

"Those wounds say otherwise! Mother _died_ because _you_ needed protecting!" Clicks snarled.

"Clicks!" Jade snapped, eyes lighting," That's too far!"

"Oh, no I want him to say it again, _to my face._ " he hissed, drawing himself up to his brother so that they stood at equal height, fire boiling in both of their chests. Dark spots danced in Smaug's vision.

"I _was_ saying it to your face. Or was I saying it to your hind end? It's easy to get the two confused."

"I said, _that's enough_!" Jade roared as Smaug prepared to blast his brother to pieces. The look on her face was enough to make any dragon's courage quail. The dark spots turned into large blotches, and they soon engulfed his vision.

He didn't know if he was standing, flying, breathing, roaring. He didn't know if anything was there. Was he flying? He flapped, trying to stay aloft even if he didn't know he was in the air. He felt claws on his back, holding him down, and a weigh at his side. He pressed against it, using it as an anchor to the rest of the universe, exhaustion engulfing him.  
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Smaug woke to find the presence still at his side. A smaller body was cuddled up to his head. He felt sticky and restrained all over. he blinked open his eyes, and saw moonlight filtering into the cave. _So, we're_ not _gone! We're still here!_ he thought excitedly. Perhaps all the death had been a bad dream.

Then he lifted his head, and saw the sticky bindweed all over his body, covering his wounds. It felt as if the inside of his skull had been filled with sheep fluff, blocking his brain in, and everything throbbed dully. None of it had been a dream, and grief crashed down on him again. _Mum is dead_. _She's gone._

It was Jade as his side, and Frilla at his neck. There was no sign of Clicks. Hopefully, Smaug had won their argument. Frilla stirred as he moved, and blinked open her gold-flecked blue eyes sleepily. They brightened as she noticed him.

"You awake!" she cried out happily, jumping up to hug his snout." That was so scary! You were just _laying_ there all day and you were bleeding _everywhere_ and-"

"And I'm _fine_ , Frilla. Everything's okay now." he rumbled.

"Good." she humphed, letting go of his snout and plopping back down to the ground." Cuz now I can be mad at you. You and Clicks _shouldn't_ be arguing! It's mean and loud and scary and mean and _loud_ and did I mention the scary? It's scary when everybody fights. And if we don't leave, what if you fall down again, and the humans get you?"

"The humans won't get me." he grumbled. _Again_ , with all this talk of leaving!

"Good. We need you." Jade's voice spoke up. She lifted her head to look at him." Clicks is getting older, and yesterday was only proof that he is getting restless with us. If he leaves, we need _you_."

"Clicks won't leave us! He would never leave us! How could you even suggest that?" Frilla squawked indignantly, as Smaug realized it was true.

"It's a part of nature, Frilla. One day, perhaps not this day, but one day, Clicks _will_ leave." Jade told her." But for now, he's out searching for a temporary cave. We have to move _today_ , before the humans come with mobile black arrows."

" _Mobile_? How is that possible?" Smaug hissed with disbelief.

"We went to scout out the area earlier; we saw windlance bows, over a hundred of them, all on carts." she explained witheringly.

"How did they get ready so quickly? Where did they get all those bows?!" he lashed his tail. _HOW!?_

"As far as we can tell, there's a dwarvish settlement not far out. It seems that they've made a hasty pact to get rid of us." his hatching-mate growled, tail lashing liquidly.

Smaug got to his feet, ignoring the pain that lanced through him, as wing beats sounded from outside and Clicks landed on the balcony-like entrance. His brother inspected him up and down in one glance. He seemed to be checking if Smaug was alright, but after what Jade had said, he wasn't sure if the look in Clicks' eyes was worry... or disappointment. He decided not to think about that.

"Is it true? What Jade says of the men and their bows? _It is true_?" he pressed. Clicks looked at the ground angrily.

" _Yes_. It _is_." Clicks hissed contemptuously." They're moving at a fast pace. they should be here by next nightfall."

Smaug let out a snarl, lashing his tail so hard he nearly unbalanced himself." Snake-hearts!" Clicks nodded in agreement.

"Did you find a place?" Jade asked worriedly.

"Yes, just a way up the mountain range. We should be safe there, and then we can head west." Their brother informed them.

"West? Why would we go west?" Frilla asked, head tipped to the side and horns pricked curiously.

"There are vast plains and rock fields in the west. A perfect place to live." he looked around the cave sadly" Even if it isn't home."

They sat in silence for a while, each reliving their times in the cliff in their own thoughts. _I wonder if Mother would have liked the west._ The guilt panged inside him still. Jade had said it wasn't his fault, but Frilla hadn't and Clicks had said the opposite of that. Clearly, only one sibling forgave him. The other didn't, and the other might be too innocent to know she even blamed him. His thoughts were cast back to his conversation with Jade on the top of the cliff.

"You may have watched her fall, but you are not the cause of her death. It was not you who set loose the arrow that took her life, and it was not you who forged the bow it was set loose from."

Something inside him, that odd feeling he had been having since she said that, roared out more clearly than ever, and finally, it clicked. Inside his head, the blame shifted, the pieces re-arranged themselves, and a new picture formed. He growled, fire boiling and eyes narrowing. _Humans and dwarves._

It was _not_ his fault. It was _theirs_. Dwarves made the arrow, dwarves made the bow, and humans had launched it into her heart and Da's. It was _them_ who got his parents killed, not _him_! _Clicks and Frilla are wrong, and Jade was wrong to comfort me._ I _didn't kill Mum; men and dwarves did! And they will pay for every drop of dragon blood they have spilled._

Suddenly, a horn bellowed from outside. All of their heads snapped up, and Smaug put his vengeful reverie aside. _Now_ was the time for action.

"Jade, get Frilla to the mountains." Smaug ordered, picking his little sister up by the back of her neck with a protestful squeal. He dumped her on Jade's back." Hold on tight, we'll follow you soon."

She nodded fearfully." Be careful, Smaug!" she managed to call as Jade bounded out of the cave and launched into the air. Black, snake-like shapes rose into the air as she flew up and out of their reach. Smaug and Clicks turned to each other, nodding.

They launched themselves out of the cliffs, Smaug drinking in the last scents of his home. He gathered his fire in his chest, all his rage towards these creature rising inside of him. He let loose a burst that melted the black arrows aimed at him and sent many men up in a blazing inferno. A blast form Clicks set them on fire as well, and they banked in the air, flying off in the direction of the mountains.

Smaug stopped as they got out of the rang of the black arrows, turning and glaring down at the inferno that had only destroyed a fraction of the small army, glaring down at the creature that had killed his mother.

 _One day_ , _you will_ all _pay dearly for what you have done to me! One day... I will have my revenge on all your kind!_

 **By the way, this is your last chance to read the first 17 chapters of _Siblings_ (the completely unedited and horrible version. well, not completely horrible; but the re-writes I'm doing add like, 5000 extra words to each chapters). It's coming down soon, and then you'll all have to live with me slowly making the entire first five chapters bigger, better, and all around awesomer, with added details to the chapters that follow them.**

 **I've also written a Destiny One-shot, it's up now.**

 **Be sure to read and review!**

 **Speaking of, Jayfeattheris Awesome has recently posted her own DS9 crossover with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.(I call dibsies on throwing Zombie Ward into the volcano!), and has come up with a rather...hilarious way to juice Reviews out of readers. I decided to have ago with the same exact challenge, just to see how many giggle I can get out of it.**

 **Review Challenge: Type out the most ridiculous thing you can think of into the review box. It doesn't even have to be a sentence; it can be an incoherent jumble of words(but not random letters like weiurhduwegfbh, please), but don't put anything inappropriate; little kids could be reading those(or their parents, checking to make sure the fic is alright). But yeah; the most ridiculous line you can think of, and the best ones might be featured in the next chapter of...whatever fic I update next.**

 **So get cracking on letting your sanity loose! YEEEE-HAA!**

 **Amberstar out! ^^**


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